Buff wheel



Aug. 22, 1967 5, JESKE 3,336,621

BUFF WHEEL 7 Filed Feb. 21. 1966 I 45 46 4'5 5H E::- T z' r g 8 42 P w l I 28 h: Z fii W W W I i I i E 5 T164 INVENTOR I Z7 BERNARD G. JESKE ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,336,621 BUFF WHEEL Bernard George Jeske, 1614 Clay Ave., Detroit, Mich. 48211 Filed Feb. 21, 1966, Ser. No. 529,075 Claims. (Cl. -230.14)

This invention relates generally to buff wheels and more particularly to an improved buff wheel of a construction such that it is adapted to utilize reusable buffing cloth.

The buff wheel of this invention is an improvement on the buff wheel disclosed in my copending application Ser. No. 334,253 filed Dec. 30, 1963, now Patent N0. 3,258,- 807, and is constructed so that it can be made from pieces of used bufiing cloth and is therefore advantageous for the reasons explained in my copending application. The principal object of this invention, therefore, is to provide an improved buff wheel of a construction which lends itself to economical manufacture from readily obtainable used cloth by an automated process, provides a more aggressive cutting action than has heretofore been obtainable, and has a flexible construction such that it will, when desired, mush into bufling engagement with hard to reach surface portions of irregularly shaped workpieces to be buffed.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved bufr' wheel in which a greater proportion of the cloth in the wheel is located where it can do useful work. Further objects, features and advantages of this invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following description, the appended claims, and the accomp anying drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational buff wheel of this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a transverse sectional view of the buff wheel of this invention as seen from substantially the line 22 in FIG. 1;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary edge view of the butt wheel of this invention;

FIGURE 4 is a plan View of a portion of the elongated cloth body in the butt wheel of this invention as the body appears prior to assembly of the body with a supporting ring;

FIGURE 5 is an edge view of the body portion shown in FIG. 4; and

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary plan view, on a reduced scale, of a length of cloth showing an improved manner in which the cloth can be cut to form the buff pieces in a modified form of the buff wheel of this invention.

With reference to the drawing, the improved buff wheel of this invention, indicated generally at 10, is illustrated in FIG. 1 as including a metal mounting hub 12 and an annular body 14, formed of a cloth of soft or hard synthetic or natural fibers, such as cotton, sisal, combinations of cotton and sisal, etc. As shown in FIG. 2, the hub 12 consists of a circular metal plate 16 provided with a flanged axial center opening 18 and an annular ring 20 secured to and extended about the outer edge of the plate 16. The ring 20 is provided with alligator-type clamping jaws 22 which are spaced apart in a direction axially of the wheel 10 for reception of the cloth body 14 therebetween.

The cloth body 14 is formed from a plurality of substantially rectangular pieces 24 of cloth arranged initially so as to form the body 14 in an elongated generally flat form, a portion of which is illustrated in FIG. 4, having a longitudinal center line 28. Each cloth piece 24 is folded so that it has a fold 26 which extends transversely of the cloth body 14 about midway between the edges 27 of the piece 24. Adjacent folded cloth pieces 24 are telescoped into each other, as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, so that view of the improved each piece 24 is telescoped or inserted into the adjacent piece on one side and in turn has the adjacent piece on the other side telescoped or inserted into it. The cloth body 14 is formed by arranging a suflicient number of pieces 24 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 to provide a body 14 of a length, measured along the line 28, to extend at least once about the ring 20. As an illustration of the size of the body 14, in one embodiment of the invention, a seven inch diameter ring 20 is used, the cloth pieces 24 are three inches by nine inches and the body 14 is about twenty-two inches long. When the body 14 is mounted on ring 20 as shown in FIG. 2, the wheel 10 has an overall diameter of about sixteen inches.

In the manufacture of the buff wheel 10, when a cloth body 14 has been formed of the desired length to extend one or more times about the ring 20, in the flat formation illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, the pieces 24 can be temporarily or permanently connected by suitable means extending along the line 28 or other lines parallel thereto. The purpose of this connecting means is to facilitate wrapping of the flat body 14 about a pair of axially spaced drums (not shown) as illustrated in my copending application. The body 14 is then return folded along the line 28 and drawn radially inwardly into the ring 20 and between the jaws 22. When each piece 24 has been thus return folded upon itself along the line 28, it has a center portion 30 disposed between the jaws 22 and a pair of end portions 32 which extend in overlapped relation radially outwardly from the ring 20. The jaws 22 are then forced inwardly toward each other so as to clamp the portions 30 of the cloth pieces 24 therebetween.

The portions 32 of each piece 24 thus terminate at their outer ends in the edges 34 of the cloth piece 24 from which they are formed. As best appears in FIGS. 3 and 5, the edges 34 are substantially V-shaped because of the fold 26 in each cloth piece 24 in the body 14. The edges 34 of each cloth piece 24 are arranged side by side in a direction axially of the wheel 10, as shown in FIG. 3, and the V-shaped edges 34 of adjacent pieces 24 are arranged in a substantially parallel relatively telescoped relation about the periphery of the wheel 10.

It can thus be seen that in the resulting wheel 10, the cloth body 14 is shaped so that it has side-by-side V- shaped sections of cloth. The V shape of the cloth sections enables improved retention of the butfing compound by the Wheel 10. The compound is retained in the pockets formed at the apices of the Vs and between adjacent cloth sections at the outer periphery of the wheel 10. It is contemplated that the wheel 10 will usually be rotated in a direction corresponding to the direction of the arrow 36 in FIG. 3 but in some applications, rotation in the opposite direction may be desirable. The individual cloth sections in the wheel 10 enables the body 14 to mush into bufi'ing engagement with hard to reach surface portions of irregularly shaped workpieces to be bulfed.

By virtue of the fact that the cloth body 14 is constructed from relatively small pieces of cloth 24, it can readily be manufactured from used cloth removed from worn buffing wheels. This is particularly advantageous because such cloth can readily be obtained at all times and is,otherwise useless. The cloth pieces 24 are readily cut and folded to the desired size and shape and these pieces can readily be fed and assembled as shown in FIG. 4 to form a cloth body 14 of considerable length which can then be cut into the desired lengths for manufacture of buifs of various sizes. It is to be understood of course that the body 14 can be made of new cloth, if desired, the resulting buff wheel 10 having the advantages described above by virtue of the V-shape of the cloth sections which form the body 14.

Another advantage of the buff wheel of this invention is that it can be made so that a major proportion of the cloth in the wheel is located in the outer-peripheral portion of the wheel where it is needed. This is illustrated in FIG. 6 which shows pieces 24a, prior to folding along lines 26a, which can be substituted in the wheel 10 for the rectangular pieces 24 having the folds 26. In all other respects, a wheel10 made from the pieces 24a is identical to the wheel 10 made from the rectangular pieces 24. The pieces 24a are cut from a strip 40 of cloth of certain width so that each edge 34a of each piece 24a is of a length greater than one-half of the width of the strip 40. As a result, when the pieces 24a are arranged in the interfitted V formation to form the body 14, more of the cloth from strip 40 is located in the working part of the body 14 than would be the case if the pieces were rectangular. This advantageous result is obtained by shaping each piece 24a so that it has spaced leg portions 42 and a base portion 44, the base portion 44 being of a length measured along the line 46, twice the width of each leg portion 42, measured along the line 48. This configuration of the pieces 24a eliminates the wasting of any cloth from strip 40.

It will be understood that the buff wheel which is herein disclosed and described is presented for purposes of explanation and illustration and is not intended to indicate limits of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. A buff wheel comprising an elongated cloth body consisting of a plurail-ty of individual cloth pieces each of which is folded upon itself so that a fold therein extends transversely of said body, each of said pieces being telescoped into the adjacent piece on one side thereof and having the adjacent piece on the opposite side thereof telescoped thereinto so that each piece has a pair of raw edges which extend generally transversely of said body at positions spaced longitudinally thereof from said fold in the piece, a circular supporting ring for said body, said body being mounted on said ring so that said pieces are evenly distributed about the periphery of said ring, each of said folded pieces being return folded upon itself along a line extending longitudinally of said body so that each piece has a center portion adjacent said line and a pair of end portions which extend in overlapped relation from said center portion, and means at the periphery of said ring attaching said body to said ring so that each of said pieces in said body has its center portion adjacent the periphery of said ring and has its end portions extending radially outwardly from said ring.

2. A buff wheel according to claim 1 in which said ring has a radially outwardly opening endless channel at the outer periphery thereof and alligator-type clamping teeth on opposite sides of said channel which are clampingly engaged with said body on opposite sides of said line.

3. A bulf wheel according to claim 1 in which said pair of end portions in each of said pieces are of substantially equal length in a direction radially of said wheel and terminate in substantially V-shape edges that are arranged side by side in a direction axially of said wheel, the V- shape edges of adjacent pieces being arranged in a substantially parallel relatively telescoped relation about the periphery of said wheel.

4. A buff wheel according to claim 1 in which each of said pieces is shaped so that it has more of the cloth therein located in said end portions adjacent the terminal ends thereof than it does in said center portion.

5. A buff wheel according to claim 4 in which each of said pieces is of a shape prior to any folding thereof such that it has a pair of leg portions and a base portion extending therebetween, each of said leg portions being of a width equal to one-half the length of said base portion between said leg portions.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 981,841 1/1911 Codman et al. 15-230.l4 2,704,916 3/1955 Peterson l5-230.13 3,120,724 2/1964 Mockiewicz et al. 51-397 3,148,963 9/1964 Nuke 5l402 CHARLES A. WILLMUTH, Primary Examiner.

DANIEL BLUM, Examiner. 

1. A BLUFF WHEEL COMPRISING AN ELONGATED CLOTH BODY CONSISTING OF A PLURALITY OF INDIVIDUAL CLOTH PIECES EACH OF WHICH IS FOLDED UPON ITSELF SO THAT A FOLD THEREIN EXTENDS TRANSVERSELY OF SAID BODY, EACH OF SAID PIECES BEING TELESCOPED INTO THE ADJACENT PIECE ON ONE SIDE THEREOF AND HAVING THE ADJACENT PIECE ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE THEREOF TELESCOPED THEREINTO SO THAT EACH PIECE HAS A PAIR OF RAW EDGES WHICH EXTEND GENERALLY TRANSVERSELY OF SAID BODY AT POSITIONS SPACED LONGITUDINALLY THEREOF FROM SAID FOLD IN THE PIECE, A CIRCULAR SUPPORTING RING FOR SAID BODY, SAID BODY BEING MOUNTED ON SAID RING SO THAT SAID PIECES ARE EVENLY DISTRIBUTED ABOUT THE PERIPHERY OF SAID RING, EACH OF SAID FOLDED PIECES BEING RETURN FOLDED UPON ITSELF ALONG A LINE EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY OF SAID BODY SO THAT EACH PIECE HAS A CENTER PORTION ADJACENT SAID LINE AND A PAIR OF END PORTIONS WHICH EXTEND IN OVERLAPPED RELATION FROM SAID CENTER PORTION, AND MEANS AT THE PERIPHERY OF SAID RING ATTACHING SAID BODY TO SAID RING SO THAT EACH OF SAID PIECES IN SAID BODY HAS ITS CENTER PORTION ADJACENT THE PERIPHERY OF SAID RING AND HAS ITS END PORTIONS EXTENDING RADIALLY OUTWARDLY FROM SAID RING. 